The best way to prevent a burglary in your neighborhood is to have all of your neighbors work together to prevent crime. You don’t need a formal neighborhood watch program to prevent home burglaries.  You just need to know how to be a good neighbor to promote community safety.  By being a good neighbor to everyone else in your neighborhood, you can encourage them to be a good neighbor back, supporting each other and increasing overall security.

Be Alert

Not only do you not need a formal neighborhood watch, you also do not need any special training to keep your neighborhood safe, you just need a keen eye. Knowing what to look for and keeping a watchful eye on the homes, kids, pets in your neighborhood can keep everyone safe. So what should you look for?  Suspicious behavior like returning to the same place repeatedly, looking in windows, walking around the back of the home, trying door locks, climbing trees or other actions that may indicate someone is casing a home or trying to break-in should be reported to police immediately. Never confront a suspicious person or group of people alone.

Be Informed

You are doing what you need to do to stay informed right now by reading this report.  We want to provide you with the latest crime trends and ways criminals are trying to victimize you in our community. Keep up the good work, keep reading and stay informed. Know what is going on in your neighborhood.  If you see workers working and you were not informed of the work they are performing in the neighborhood or your neighbor did not tell you they were expecting anyone, they could be burglars posing as workers. It cannot hurt to call your neighbor or your homeowner association to verify they are legitimately providing a service.

Get Connected

Keeping an eye on your neighbor’s homes does not do much good if you can’t get in touch with them if you have a concern. Be sure to have your neighbors’ cell phone and work phone numbers. This can keep you safe too because exchanging number with your neighbors makes it easy for them to get in touch with you as well if there is a problem at your home.

It is a shared responsibility to make sure our community is safe. If you have ever fallen victim to crime, the shock, anger and helplessness is not easily forgotten. To protect ourselves, we must look out for one another. The fact is the impact on crime prevention by law enforcement alone is minimal when compared with the power of private citizens working with law enforcement and with each other.